Today I'm a little peeved.I went into Istock to purchase an image that has been floating around there for ages. It was only a matter of time until it suited a cover I was working on.
However it seems Istock have added a brand new feature to their site. Vetta images. This is where certain images are selected for their artistic quality and are awareded the little gold camera icon. So images that once cost the buyer 4-6 credits now cost 40 credits and higher!!! I kid you not.
Just to give you an idea of what this means in real $$$. To purchase 26 credits it costs me $51.50 AUS (give or take a few $ depending on the price of the dollar at the time). So to purchase enough for just ONE of these images I'd have to buy 50 credits at a total of $95AUD.
Now for someone who can use up to 4 images in a cover. I'd have to hope like hell that none of these images have that little gold camera next to them.
So coming back to my peeved state. Do I have a right to be peeved? I mean I don't deny the photographers their lot. In fact the images selected ARE the better ones on the site. However, the small time freelancer like myself just can't afford to purchase these images. It just happens that 90% of the images that I've earmarked in my lightboxes now have these damn little gold camera icons next to them :(
So, I've opted NOT to include Vetta images in my searches. I just hope that I can still provide you with good quality, attractive images. I'm not sure if these images are exclusive to Istock only. It wouldn't surprise me if I could go to Dreamstime or Shutterstock and get them at the normal rate. I must go and have a squiz.
Anyway, that's my peeve for the day. Hope to add some more covers very soon.
